Zero Dark Thirty Wins Yet Again, Takes Home Best Picture From The National Board Of Review

Going into the start of this awards season, it appeared to be one of the most competitive in quite some time. Spielberg hit a home run with Lincoln, indies like Beasts Of The Southern Wild and established auteurs like Paul Thomas Anderson prove the arthouse is as strong as ever, and Hollywood pictures like Les Miserables appear to be as strong as ever. However, apparently one film is standing above the rest.

Following their win earlier this week from the New York Film Critics Circle, Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty has won the award for Best Picture from The National Board Of Review, with Bigelow and star Jessica Chastain taking home Best Director and Best Actress respectively.

Other winners include Leonardo DiCaprio for Best Supporting Actor in Django Unchained and Bradley Cooper taking home Best Actor for Silver Linings Playbook. Ann Dowd stole Best Supporting Actress for the film Compliance. Rian Johnson wins for Best Original Screenplay, while David O. Russell took home Best Adapted Screenplay for Silver Linings

While the big news here is that, despite looking like a perfect spot for a film like Lincoln to pop up and steal a win, Zero Dark Thirty looks as strong as ever, the NBR again provides the right amount of insight into a year that’s been rather fruitful. Dowd is a fantastic pick here, as she makes Compliance a film that is far better than it is on its own, and Looper, while a narrative mess, is none the less an intriguing bit of science fiction. However, Zero Dark Thirty is the news here, proving that it may very well be the strongest picture in the field. Lincoln and Les Mis are still strong, but this seems to be on an entirely different level.

Here’s the full list of winners:

Best Film:    Zero Dark Thirty
Best Director:  Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Best Actor:  Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Actress:  Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Best Supporting Actor:  Leonardo Dicaprio, Django Unchained
Best Supporting Actress:  Ann Dowd, Compliance
Best Original Screenplay:  Rian Johnson, Looper
Best Adapted Screenplay:  David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Animated Feature: Wreck-it Ralph
Special Achievement In Filmmaking: Ben Affleck, Argo
Breakthrough Actor:  Tom Holland, The Impossible
Breakthrough Actress:  Quvenzhané Wallis,   Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Best Directorial Debut:  Benh Zeitlin, Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Best Foreign Language Film:   Amour
Best Documentary:  Searching For Sugar Man
William K. Everson Film History Award:  50 Years Of Bond Films
Best Ensemble:  Les Misérables
Spotlight Award: John Goodman (Argo, Flight, Paranorman, Trouble With The Curve)
Nbr Freedom Of Expression Award:  Central Park Five
Nbr Freedom Of Expression Award:  Promised Land

Top Films
(in Alphabetical Order)

Argo
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Looper
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower
Promised Land
Silver Linings Playbook

Top 5 Foreign Language Films
(in Alphabetical Order)

Barbara
The Intouchables
The Kid With A Bike
No
War Witch

Top 5 Documentaries
(in Alphabetical Order)

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
Detropia
The Gatekeepers
The Invisible War
Only The Young

Top 10 Independent Films
(in Alphabetical Order)

Arbitrage
Bernie
Compliance
End Of Watch
Hello I Must Be Going
Little Birds
Moonrise Kingdom
On The Road
Quartet
Sleepwalk With Me

Source NBR